Dispite the Time
by ricojohn
Summary: Percy stayed behind in Tatarus to make sure Annabeth could go home. Assuming he had died down there the world moves on. When he resurfaces years later though, will he be able to continue on or was he broken in the lowest depths of hell?


A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: I know this story is over used but hay, I like over used!

Enjoy!

Chapter 1:

POV: Unknown

The man was in pain. He had no idea of how long he has been in this room but he knew it was a long time. So long he has given up on hope of ever seeing the sun again in his life. So long that he has given up hope on ever feeling happy. So long that he wishes death would come. Most of all though, he has all but forgotten how to do anything but scream.

That is all he knows now. Pain and screaming. He does not understand why this happened to him. He had done all he could to be a good person but he is still in this room. He just wants the pain to end.

He doesn't truly remember life before this. He has fragments of memories and if his captures were to reference his old life he would know what they are talking about but he does not feel connected to it any more. Like it was only a movie that he enjoyed watching, once upon a time.

He used to cry for hours but he gave up long ago. He used to pray to whoever would listen that he might be saved. He used to plea for mercy. He used to, he used to.

Now he just lays on his stone slab, still chained down, and silently takes each hour that passes. Then he screams for a few minutes every few hours as he gets tortured, then more silence. He no longer cares. He has long ago given up hope itself. Not the hope of freedom but the very idea of hope. Hope was useless. It does nothing but hurt to hope. He just lays on his slab, having long ago accepted that this was his reality.

Hours of nothing, only interrupted by the mad titan burning him, stabbing him or even pulling out his intestines, replacing them just in time to stop him from dying.

There were many ways the Titan made him scream. They were all just as horrific in their own ways. Like the curses that were placed on him from time to time. Hallucinations of his old life, only to be dragged back to his reality.

He was a boy when he came here, he knew. He didn't think of himself as a kid at the time but he knew now that he was. He was sixteen. Not even out of high school yet when he was sent to this hell. He had volunteered to come and had tricked the one person he cared most for in the world to stay. He didn't want that person to be trapped here and he knew he had no other choice.

But in hind sight he also knew that back then he thought he was invincible. He wasn't cocky, just young. Everything had just worked out for him up until that point so he had no experience that told him it wouldn't happen again. A recue party or a back door exit or some trick to escape. But no, there was none.

Now he sees no reason to carry on. He has seen more hells then any one should see in a life time.

He has seen friends die, wars fought, the land of the dammed and the hell of the vanquished. He only wants to die. To let the pain end. But again, that's hope. He gave up on it. He only exists now. No future, no past, and no fight left in him.

He was once the hero of Olympus in his first war. He was also a loving boyfriend who gave up everything in the second war. Now he is nothing. He was once Percy Jackson, the great hero.

But he gave that up as well.

He gave up everything when he dove out of the elevator. He had to make sure Annabeth made it out of this place. There was no way Bob could hold his ground long enough for the elevator to reach the top, no matter how hard he tried or how much help he got. But Percy knew that most of the monsters here wanted him dead so he told Annabeth that they were both leaving, got in the elevator with her, and dove out as the doors were shutting.

His plan was to use himself as bait so the monsters wouldn't go after the doors of death, and it worked. Annabeth was safe but now he was trapped.

Once they captured him they brought him before Kronos who smiled and began the torturing that would continue until present day.

That was long ago now. Back then he wasn't even old enough to grow whiskers but now he had a beard. And a thick one at that. It covered his face and made him look different. This only solidified in his mind, that he was not the same person he was when he entered this hell.

Then he herd his cell door open and he knew the torture was about to start.

"Look, we have the stupid rock so let's just get out of here." A young voice that Percy didn't recognize whisper yelled.

"Not yet." Spat back another young voice." We need to wait for…" The voice trailed off. "What is that?" I asked in a horrified tone.

It was at this point that Percy rolled his head to the side to face the new comers. He didn't speak, only stared at them. They were two kids in their mid to late teens. They were covered with bruises and scrapes.

One of them approached Percy, cautiously.

"Who are you?" Asked one of the kids.

Percy frowned at the question. Who was he? Did he even qualify as a person after so much time in this hell?

"Leave him man!" Screamed the other teen. "We need to go NOW!"

"No." Responded the first. "I'm not leaving this guy here."

"He's a monster." Spat the first. "He's living in tartarus, he's a monster in disguise."

"Or he was captured." Spat the other teen. "I say he comes with us."

With that the first teen pulled out a sword and cut the chains that held Percy to the stone slab and he lifted his arm for the first time in years, decades, millennia, he did not know how long he had been down in this stupid place. He just stood up and followed the kids until they were exiting the hell the next day.

Time Break!

POV: Percy

It had been three days since my release and I was back in New York. I hadn't informed any one I was alive and I diched the two kids who found me right after getting out. It wasn't long before I found a newspaper and read the date. My stomach dropped out from under me. Six years. I had spent over six years in that hell.

I just shook my head. I would have continued to sulk but my stomach was growling. I had managed to get a job at a local restaurant the day before so I had some money. I decided that the bar across the street looked like a good place to find some food. I hadn't eaten in years. Kronos had kept me alive by force feeding me that dam fire river. I had once known the name but after six year I just stopped caring.

So I walked into the bar and ordered a burger. The lady behind the bar asks if I would like a drink and I shrug.

"Shure." I respond.

"Anything in particular?" She asks me.

I shake my head.

"Just something good." I answer.

She nods, leaves, and comes back with an amber beer. I was about to protest that I was too young for that when it hit me that I was 22.

So I took it and drank as she went and got me my burger.

I was just starting to eat when the guy in the stool next to me lights a cigar and the bar tender yelled at him.

"Not in here pal." She says. "Take it out side."

The man grumbles but leaves.

Just as he exits a girl around my age enters the bar, pauses for a second while she looks for a seat, and then sits down at the now vacant stool next to me.

"Hay, Pipes." He girl greats the bar tender as she sits down next to me. "How's it going?"

"Fine." The bar tender responds. "You?"

The girl smiles.

"Same old." She shrugs.

It was at this point that I saw her eyes. The deepest storm grey.

"Still trying to get through Architect School?" The bar tender asked.

It was here that I knew I knew these people. Piper and Annabeth!

I just stared out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to draw any attention. After all, to them I was probably dead.

"Yup." Annabeth said. "Though I'm still not sure about this stuff, what if I'm better in a different field?"

I spoke before I had time to proses what I was saying.

"What do you mean different field? You designed the new Olympus, didn't you?" I asked.

The two girls froze when I spoke.

"Do I know you?" Annabeth asked, suspiciously.

I shook my head.

"Probably not." I answered as I finished my beer, placed the money on the counter, and went to leave.

"Who are you?" Annabeth called after me.

I turned to face her.

"Nobody." I answered. "Have a good meal, Annabeth."

And with that I left but I didn't get far. About half way down the block I felt a hand grab my arm and spin me around.

"Seriously." Annabeth said. "You obviously know me, so who are you?'

I just shook my head.

"Sorry to have bothered you." I told her as I went to walk away but she grabbed my arm again.

"I want to know." She said, growing annoyed.

I turn back to her.

"Your name is Annabeth Chase." I told her. "You ran away from home when you were six and came to Camp Half-blood when you were seven. You were trailing with Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace. Thalia turned into a tree and Luke betrayed the camp when you were twelve. You went multiple quests and even led the defenses for the battle of Manhattan. Then you were on board the Argo II on a quest to stop Gaia where you went off on your own to find the Athena Parthenos. Then you fell into Tartarus, fought your way through, and escaped on the other side." I finished.

She looked very uncomfortable.

"How do you know so much about me?" She demanded.

"I used to know everything about you." I replied as I turned to leave. "But that doesn't mean I know anything about you."

She frowned at my words, clearly puzzled.

"Just tell me who you are." She demanded.

I smiled.

"My names Percy." I told her.

All color drained from her face in that second.

"Percy?" She asked. "There is no way you're Percy."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ballpoint pen that had been sitting in my pocket for the last few years but the chins on my arms and legs prevented me from reaching it.

Once I had it out I de-caped it and it sprang to life as my trusty old sword, riptide.

Annabeth face became paler.

"Percy?" She asked. "I thought you were dead."

I found myself flashing back to all the torture I had endured over the last six years.

"I am." I said slowly as it turned to leave.

She just started walking next to me.

"How did you get out?" She asked me. "Why didn't you come back to camp? I drove myself crazy thinking you weren't coming back!"

I stopped abruptly.

"You went crazy?" I demanded. "I was in that hell for six years! Where the hell were you and the rest of the camp? Or the gods? You just got to the top and said 'Fuck it he's gone!'?"

"No!" She defended.

"Then why the hell was I there for six years?!" I demanded. "You really have no idea what happened down there do you?"

"I was there too Percy." Annabeth pointed out. "I still have nightmares about that place."

"You didn't see the real side of it." I spat. "You were free when you were there. If monsters attacked you could fight back or run but I was chained to a slab for six years as they tortured me!"

Her face went from anger to horror at my words.

"They would gut me like a fish, Annabeth." I continued. "Then they'd put me back together enough to keep me alive until the next time they felt like hurting me. I lived like that for six years!"

"Percy," She began in a remorseful tone. "If I knew you were alive I would have stopped at nothing until you were safe."

I just shook my head.

"Goodbye, Annabeth." I told her as I turned to leave.

"Do you have a place to stay?" She asked me as I walked away.

"I'll be fine." I told her.

"I have an apartment nearby." She said. "You're welcome to stay with me."

I wanted to refuse but the idea of a comfy couch compared to lying under an overpass was too tempting.

Ten minute later Annabeth was unlocking her apartment door to let us in.

"Well here we are." She announced as the door opened.

It was a small apartment and appeared to only have two rooms. A bathroom and a kitchen/living room. In the middle of the room was a couch that folded out into a bed.

"Where am I going to sleep?" I asked her as we walked in.

"With me on the bed." She answered. "I know it's not much but I'm still a college student so I can't afford much."

I nod.

Time Break!

Tonight I had the first shower that I've had in years. It's not as nice as I remember it. I keep getting flash backs to Tartarus about the time they cut open my stomach and let the blood flow up through a tube and poor out onto my head and face.

Then once I got out I walked back into the other room to find Annabeth was cooking something.

"Since when do you cook?" I asked her.

She shrugged.

"A few years now." She answered. "You still like blue cookies?"

My eyebrows went up in surprise.

"I don't know." I answered. "Haven't had one is years."

She nodded as she pulled out a tray of fresh cookies and set them down on the counter.

"Want to find out?" She asks.

I nod and take one. It was just as good as I remembered.

At least some things haven't changed. I thought.

And so Annabeth and I talked over the tray of cookies about the world since I was captured and what I missed. As it turns out the world did alright for itself without me. I always wondered what would happen if I wasn't around and as it turns out the world does just fine and the amount of monster attacks drops to almost zero.

"So how did you escape?" Annabeth asked me after a while.

I shook my head.

"Some demigods on a quest found me and let me out." I said. "They didn't know who I was but they got me out."

She nodded.

"Chiron mentioned to me about sending a quest to Tartarus." She said. "If I knew you were there I would have volunteered but my quest days are over."

I nodded.

"So you're becoming an architect?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"And what about you?" She asked me. "What are you going to do now?"

I shrugged.

"No idea." I told her. "It's not like I have a lot of experience to go off of."

"Oh come on." She scoffed. "You fought titans and giants and you say you have no experience?"

I just sulked for a second before answering.

"That's not me Annabeth." I began. "The boy you're talking about died six years ago. All I know how to do is scream and suffer."

She frowned at me.

"You're free now." She said softly. "You can do anything you want."

I just shook my head.

"I don't know what I want." I told her. "A few days ago I would have been happy with death and I still would be if it were to come for me. I've seen too much, Annabeth." I could feel tears forming behind my eyes for the first time in years. "The things they did to me, I shouldn't be alive. I don't want to live with it."

I was staring at the counter, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Percy," She spoke softly. "I'm so sorry. I should have come back for you, I should have…"

"No." I cut her off. "I chose to stay. It was my fault and no one else's. I was just under the impression that once you were safe I could find a way out or they would kill me." I paused. "I wasn't expecting…that."

I looked up to see her nodding sadly.

"But you're free now." She said. "You have so many possibilities."

I sighed.

"All I know is that it hurt then and the memories hurt even more now." I said as images of that place flashed through my head. "And I don't see a point anymore."

She sighed sadly and placed her hand on top of mine.

"Come." She told me as she led me away from the kitchen counter.

"Where?" I asked her as she led me.

"I'm going to show you that not every good thing you've had is gone." She told me as he pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside was a small, leather, necklace with beads on it.

I immediately knew it was mine. I had dropped it in the elevator before I dove out. As a dog tag of sorts. Proof that I had died.

A good bye message.

"I held onto this all these years because I missed you." She told me. "I was so alone and scared after you stayed. There were whole months where I wanted to kill myself just to be with you again."

She sobbed and buried her head into my chest.

"I just can't believe you're back." She sobbed. "All this time and I still missed you!"

I pulled her into a hug, my gut wanting to sob with her.

"I missed you too." I whispered.

"I love you, Percy." She whispered. "I still love you."

I pulled her in tighter.

"I love you too." I told her. "I will always love you."

A message form the Author. Like it? Awsome!


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